"Evil doesn't exist at Camp Alpine Lake. Not inside the wrought-iron gate that separates camp from the town of Roxwood, and not at the waterfront, where far-out buoys keep us isolated from the rest of New England...Camp is a bubble, made for bonfires and a sing-alongs and friendships made under the beam of a flashlight."
A lot more than the gate separates the townies from the the seasonal intruders--the pampered campers and the counselors and parents who don't even tip. The relationship is like that between privileged tourists and year round residents in many Maine towns. As much as the townies would privately like the visitors to go away and never return, they know that would lead to regional economic devastation. You'd better believe they resent this dependency.
Goldie, narrator of Jessica Goodman's The Counselors, has one foot in each world. Because both of her parents work for Alpine Lake she's been able to attend, first as a camper and then as a counselor. It's the only place she feels safe and at home, a refuge from the drabness and poverty of her town.
But her close associations with the despised camp taint her relationships with her peers and community. Especially in the year before the story begins when she takes the fall for an incident to protect her boyfriend's promising future.
That summer said boyfriend is found floating dead in the carefully cordoned off camp swimming area. Camp administration silences the story. Trying to figure out what happened Goldie begins to discover inconvenient truths about her family of choice and how far they'd go to protect their beloved camp.
"Before this summer, Camp Alpine Lake was a haven. An escape from what I could not face back home in Roxwood, only a few miles outside the gate.
But now Camp Alpine Lake is another place where I'll never feel safe."
On a purrrsonal note, I've just submitted my final homework assignment!!! The doctor looked at my ankle again and says I'm healing just fine. I can lose the boot before graduation. I'm enjoying the warmer weather and the flowers all over campus and the end of the year activities. Life feels really good.
A great big shout out goes out to the UMaine class of '25!!!
Jules Hathaway
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
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